Every mid-September in the lunar calendar, the village of Hanh Thien (Nam Dinh) celebrates the Keo Pagoda Festival. This tradition holds significant importance in the community’s life, deeply ingrained in the consciousness of every resident of Hanh Thien.

With deep-rooted cultural customs reflecting the agricultural lifestyle of rice cultivation, the Keo Hanh Thien Pagoda Festival serves as an occasion for people to commemorate and express gratitude to the Venerable Duong Khong Lo, a revered Buddhist monk, for his merits in saving and helping the community.

The festival preserves various rituals alongside numerous community activities, sports events, and folk games such as “bơi trải” competitions, lantern parades, tug-of-war, puppetry, and more.

This is my work for Saigoneer. Click here to read the full article in Vietnamese.